Kingdom Hearts 3 Director Confirms Gummi Ship Will Return

Game director Tetsuya Nomura has confirmed that Kingdom Hearts III will indeed mark the return of the Gummi Ship.

“We can confirm that we do have Gummi Ships in Kingdom Hearts 3 because it is a numbered Kingdom Hearts title,” Nomura confirmed to IGN at D23 Expo. “You can expect that to show up, but it has evolved. We can’t say how it has evolved, it’s a secret, but Gummi Ships will be in Kingdom Hearts III.”

Gummi Ships were featured in both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. It was one of the more criticized aspects of original game, so a few changes were made in the sequel, and it looks like Square Enix is going to continue to evolve the Gummi Ship system in the series’ third main installment.

Nomura also confirmed that Kingdom Hearts III will feature new magic tiers. After noticing “Blizzaza” as an ability in the Orchestra World Tour trailer, we asked Nomura about additional tiers, and he said this is indeed a higher form of Blizzaga.

“The background of the tier of the magic, up until now, only King Mickey was able to utilize the most powerful form of magic,” he explained. Fans of the franchise will remember Mickey cast the highest for of Stop magic (Stopza) in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

“It has existed, and then in 2.8, as Aqua becomes Key Blade Master, she is also able to control the highest form of certain magic,” Nomura added. “As you noticed, it is a higher tier of magic, and Sora is going to be able to use that in Kingdom Hearts 3 as well.”